Chapter 40: Taking the Stage Part 1
Lou Ting had never used these things before, but that didn’t stop him from learning how to use them.
Seeing He Yunzhou didn’t come over, Lou Ting didn’t insist on him coming over. He directly asked, “What’s the deal with Dr. Zhao?”
“When you were injured, the treatment was done so well that no one would suspect it was a deep wound,” He Yunzhou said. “Having him as a doctor also conveniently explains how he discovered your injury, so I arranged for him to appear.”
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This statement… had some merit.
If, at that time, Le Chengzhe came forward to play the victim, fans and bystanders who didn’t know the truth might think he was the one being bullied by others.
For now, bringing up his injury was just setting the stage. When Le Chengzhe appeared later, there would be no need for excessive explanations. Everyone would naturally be able to analyze what had happened.
Lou Ting put away the needle, lifted the blanket, shook off the bits that hadn’t been cleaned up on top, and said, “Go to sleep.”
He Yunzhou was momentarily stunned and suddenly felt a bit at a loss. “Is, is that okay?”
Lou Ting: “??? I’m telling you to go back to your own bed!”
In the following days, it was normal training and shooting.
With He Yunzhou providing transportation, Lou Ting felt that the trainees around him had become friendlier.
Lou Ting’s injury, though exacerbated by that bug, had also been mostly cleared of congestion.
At most, it was a torn wound, and after a few days of keeping the gauze on, it seemed to be recovering well, with no pain when running or jumping.
After the group dance, it was time for the second round of choosing.
Still in the same classroom as the first choosing.
Still with the familiar three instructors.
Except for Yu Yimeng and Le Chengzhe’s absence, all other trainees were present.
Yan Zige said, “The total number of votes from the audience for the group dance has been counted. In descending order of votes, you can choose the team you want to join.”
With that, he opened a card with detailed records of everyone’s votes.
Yan Zige first read out the rankings for each person, “First place, Lou Ting. Second place, Yu Senze. Third place…”
When he read the last person’s name, Yan Zige put down the card. “Among these are some trainees from my dance group who have a good relationship with me. I’ve never been one to manipulate trainee choices or force anyone to stay in my team. You are completely free to choose the team you want, understand? Lou Ting?”
Lou Ting: “…”
Your casual naming and pointing directly at me do make it a bit awkward.
Lou Ting nodded and said, “I understand.”
“Very good.” Yan Zige was quite satisfied with the response he received. He continued, “Next, we’ll have the second-place, Yu Senze, choose the team he wants to join.”
Yu Senze: “???”
Well, how did I end up being second on the list like this, without any prior warning?
Lou Ting: “Teacher Yan, I…”
“You?” Yan Zige raised an eyebrow. “I won’t allow you to go around sabotaging others.”
Before Lou Ting could say anything, Xie Rongrong couldn’t bear to watch any longer. “Teacher Yan, this isn’t right at all. Trainees have the right to choose for themselves. How can you disregard their wishes and forcibly keep them in your team? That’s too much.”
She walked up to the front, took Lou Ting by the hand, and led him to the ID checking area. “Why does the program have a voting mechanism? Isn’t it to allow trainees to determine their own future through their efforts? It’s useless to trap him in your team like this.”
Bai Yanchen also nodded, “Yeah, I think what Teacher Xie said makes sense.” Bai Yanchen also had his own agenda; he wanted Lou Ting to choose his team. Whether he would or not was uncertain, but if Lou Ting were left in Yan Zige’s group, he definitely wouldn’t be able to join another team.
Yan Zige wanted to speak several times but was consistently preempted by the others.
After scribbling for a while, Xie Rongrong finally revealed her thoughts to Lou Ting, saying, “Alright, Lou Ting, you choose. The teacher will help you make a decision.”
Lou Ting said, “I’ve only been in the dance group for a few days, and I feel there’s still room for improvement in my dancing. I’ll leave the opportunity to change teams to someone else.”
It hadn’t been long since he joined the dance group, and it wasn’t time to start practicing choreography yet. Leaving now would mean missing out on the next recording when their team would start choreographing.
Seeing this, Xie Rongrong asked, “Are you sure about this hasty decision? You really… won’t reconsider?”
Lou Ting confirmed, “I’m sure.”
“Alright then.” Xie Rongrong sighed and moved her hand over the machine.
Seeing Xie Rongrong’s somewhat disappointed expression, Lou Ting wanted to say something to ease the current atmosphere. However, before he could speak, Xie Rongrong suddenly burst into laughter.
Lou Ting looked puzzled.
What’s going on here?
“Sorry, Lou Ting.” Xie Rongrong waved the identity card in her hand, which had Lou Ting’s name on it.
Lou Ting was taken aback and subconsciously reached for the identity card in his pocket.
It was still there.
Then, what was the one in Xie Rongrong’s hand?
Yan Zige walked up, looked at Xie Rongrong’s identity card, and Lou Ting’s expression. He probably understood what had happened.
Yan Zige, who had been in the industry for many years and rarely suffered setbacks, was now surprised that he had been tricked by Xie Rongrong. He found it hard to believe and said, “No wonder the identity cards were demagnetized collectively a few days ago, and you voluntarily offered to help replace them. Can you really use such underhanded tricks?”
“Tsk, can’t soldiers deceive and use tricks at will? Besides, when you initially chose teams, you took Lou Ting’s identity card to swipe, how is what I did any different?” With Yan Zige setting the precedent, Xie Rongrong was just following suit, with a bit of an upgrade in her tactics.
“Of course, there’s a difference!” Yan Zige’s opposing voice was firm and loud. “Mine was a bluff, yours was theft.”
Lou Ting: “…”
You guys, don’t blame each other.
Yu Senze watched from behind and couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Hahaha, this is hilarious.”
They were really going at it.
Yan Zige suddenly turned to Yu Senze. “You, come to my dance team.”
Yu Senze: “???”
Wait a minute… me?
Yu Senze didn’t have time to resist and was hastily forced to voluntarily choose the dance group.
Thinking about his somewhat uncoordinated limbs, Yu Senze almost cried on the spot.
The morning of team changes had surprises and unexpected turns.
Everyone seemed satisfied with their team choices.
It wasn’t clear whether Lou Ting was satisfied or not, but He Yunzhou felt quite content after hearing the choices.
He Yunzhou said, “Your injury hasn’t completely healed yet, so singing in the vocal group might be a good idea.”
Lou Ting bit into a chicken leg and said, “My injury is already fine.”
He Yunzhou added a bowl of soup for him and said, “It looks fine, but the wound hasn’t fully healed yet. When Dr. Zhao delivers the medicine tomorrow, you should apply it for a while, and it will be almost healed.”
To heal the wound from that bug without leaving scars, they had to use extracts from the bug itself to make medicine and apply it to the wound.
That kind of bug was rare in the empire, so Dr. Zhao had put in a lot of effort to make the medicine. He had just messaged He Yunzhou a while ago saying that the medicine was ready.
Lou Ting shook his legs and asked, “Is there any result regarding Le Chengzhe’s situation?”
“Official reports are out, but the trial is still some time away.”
Lou Ting nodded. He had been so focused on training recently that he had missed a lot of gossip, so he quickly caught up while having his meal.
Lou Ting initially thought that when He Yunzhou mentioned the “official” report, it referred to the Imperial military or the Imperial police, the two official branches of the Empire. However, he discovered that the official Weibo account in question actually belonged to Ji Xing.
And it even had the certification of the Imperial Queen?!
JixingV: @Le Chengzhe, suspected of conspiring with the Insectoids to harm the Imperial Royal Family, has been arrested and will be tried in court tomorrow.
In just one sentence, it was official business as usual.
But even after reading the sentence several times, Lou Ting still couldn’t fully grasp it. Harming the Imperial Royal Family? Where was the Royal Family?
This accusation was something even Le Chengzhe himself would find baffling.
【Conspiring with the Insectoids? Damn! Is this guy so fearless? And he dared to harm the royal family! Who got hurt? Is it the little crown prince? I haven’t seen the cute little prince in so long! No wonder he had to come forward.】
【What the hell? Don’t spread rumors, okay? It’s just a conspiracy, not actually doing anything. You scared me for a moment.】
【It doesn’t matter who got hurt. Right now, the focus should be on Le Chengzhe. Let’s target him precisely and not get distracted.】
【Exactly! Charge! The Imperial soldiers have been guarding the edge of the galaxy for decades without being able to go home or reunite with their families. And this guy has become a spy in interstellar space! It’s time to show our power!】
In the early days of the Empire, when it wasn’t as powerful as it was now, many Imperial citizens had suffered greatly at the hands of the Insectoids. The hatred for the Insectoids (insect race) ran deep, and anyone, whether a celebrity or a commoner, with any connection to the Insectoids became their enemy.
In the war against the Insectoids, many families had been separated or lost loved ones. Even though many years had passed since the war, the scars and pain still lingered deep within their hearts.
They wished they could tear the entire Insectoid race apart, and those who conspired with the Insectoids and attempted to harm their loved ones were seen as the worst kind of scum!
For a while, Le Chengzhe’s Weibo comments section was filled with unspeakable insults.
Meanwhile, Le Chengzhe was being held in solitary confinement.
One of Le Chengzhe’s legs had been severed, and due to not receiving timely treatment, it was impossible to reattach it now.
Le Chengzhe sat in a chair, staring blankly ahead.
They had projected the messages from online netizens onto every wall in the room.
Various hateful comments flooded the screens.
Didn’t he care about his reputation, care about what people said online, and want to become famous?
Congratulations, now the three words “Le Chengzhe” were at the top of Weibo’s homepage and were the subject of discussion on forums, news apps, official broadcasts, and all the reports!
Le Chengzhe now closed his eyes, and all he could hear were the insulting words they hurled at him.
“I didn’t conspire with the Insectoids!” Le Chengzhe screamed at the top of his lungs, “I really didn’t! You’re accusing me unjustly!”
“Let me out, I want to complain, I want to report you!”
“Alright, stop yelling.” One of the people in charge glanced at him. “You say you didn’t conspire with the Insectoids, do you have any evidence?”
These five words, the same five words he often used, were thrown back at him unchanged!
Le Chengzhe’s grim expression froze for a moment. After a while, he awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth, then lowered his head in defeat.
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Patreon: Chapter 40 part 1- 41
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